Altered State, volume One. Winterworld. (Open)

Somewhere, on a distant planet, hidden for millenia lies a planet, remarkable for having giant mechanical creatures known as Zoids. It is here we find ourselves watching as Professor M. A. Guffin, of Ex Machina labs gets ready to activate his ultimate creation...

“Are we ready?” asked an old white haired man clad in a laboratory coat.
“Yes professor, the video is rolling and everything is in the green.” replies lab stooge #43 (Don't ask about stooges 1-42...)
“Then without further ado...” announced the older gentleman as he planted his thumb on a flashing red button. “Here we go!”

And the world went white.


Day: Unknown, Year: Unknown, Location: Zi.
Nobody really remembered how it all happened, only that the entire planet was plunged into an ice age. The polar caps expanding across the northern and southern hemispheres like a wave washing across sand at a beach, as the cold enveloped the world people died, basic things needed for life broke down and cities were abandoned as survivors spread across the world forming pockets of civilization that quickly backslid, in spite of the technology of the Zoids.

This tale picks up long after the world froze.

“Valkyrie to township, path is clear as discussed. No sign of anyone in the area, proceeding to waypoint three at this time” announced a females voice as a vast shape coalesced out of the drifting snow, revealing itself as a Wolf-like zoid. The pilot sighed heavily “Another day and nothing of interest...” groused Valkyrie as she nudged the controls to alter her zoids course by a few degrees.

After nearly ten years on this frozen hell Val wanted nothing more than to see a sign in the sky that would announce her ticket home...instead she'd had to wander through the wasteland scrounging for supplies...that was until she hit the jackpot, locating an old hovercargo and managing to hotwire the ungainly craft back into life, giving her access to something so few had anymore...warmth. The lumbering beast had become something of a travelling village, a few survivors banding together to conserve supplies and for security (despite the fact that it was Val who seemed to be doing all the heavy lifting on that front...).
Using orbital maps she guided her travelling circus through the wilds in search of more supplies and one day, a shot at the few snow free areas of the world that remained. Unfortunately, other survivors didn't always share the 'help folks out' mentality, which is why she was out ahead of the convoy making sure that there weren't any who'd rather take over the hovercargo, horde the supplies and (being honest about things) likely eat the occupants.

Once upon a time the very thought of cannibalism would have been repugnant to the culturally enlightened Valkyrie, a few years with near starvation level hunger quickly changed that. Despite having been born to effectively live in similar environments under more punishing conditions, it was that fact of her physiology that caused her the greatest trouble, to fuel her body she needed food..and when you had a can or two of peaches in syrup between you and starvation...you stop being picky. You did what you had to.

But that was the early days, now? She's got a warm bed (her own for once!), warm food and a degree of security. What more could a woman ask for? As Valkyrie was lost in thought a frantic warble grabbed her attention, her eyes flicking to the radar display as her own partner flashed a warning.

“Alright...something is out there..but we can't see it...guess we'll just need to look with different eyes” purred the woman as the cockpit displays flickered, small armored ports located about the glowing blue eyes of the evolved Konig Wolf slid into recesses in the armor, adding additional points of light to the head as a second set of advanced optical sensors were activated, revealing the world in a shifting pattern of colors. Val watched as the thermal imaging mode flicked on, painting the landscape in blues and purples, several odd dead spots seeming to shimmer as windblown snow passed in front of the cameras. “Hmm...” she mused as the display flicked again, a hellish image was overlaid as the zoid innately tapped into a view that seemed more like something from the endtimes than the reality...but it did what was needed.

At the edge of the zoids sensor range were a small group of three Helcats, their camouflage systems hiding them from a normal zoids abilities, but not the barely constrained monster than is the Fenrir. “Attention township, minor issue, will investigate await further information.” snapped Val as she brought her zoids weapon systems online.

“Confirmed. Sending out the diplomats.” squawked the radio in response as the Fenrir started forward in a ground eating lope, deploying the cryogenic cooling array otherwise known as the Storm Walker, driving the lightly falling snow into a veritable blizzard which engulfed the area and erased the charging Fenrir from sight.

Some distance away...

“Skitter says trader wrong!” snarled one of the Helcat pilots as he shifted uncomfortably in the tight confines of the zoids cockpit.

“But trader says big ship thing full of food! Trader always speaks trutrue!” replied one of the other pilots.

“Trader ain't here though. Storm coming on, should go back.” said the third.

“Boss say we wait here...Skitter wait. Skitter not get boss angry at skitter!”.

It was perhaps...unfortunate that since things went wrong on Zi, certain things like oh say..communications protocol and operational security were now overlooked. Which gave Valkyrie something to smile about. Well...mostly. Someone knew about the convoy and had sold them out...she couldn't think of any traders but that could be sorted out once these bumbling idiots were dealt with.

The trio of prospective attackers were already past the point of boredom, but that wasn't all that hard in today's world. The tribal nature of the majority of survivor encampments placed more emphasis on fewer independent thinkers and more on those who would follow the orders of the biggest, meanest person in the group. Unfortunately this did raise the problem of their lack of creativity when it came to taking on foes who were capable of adapting quickly, as the trio found out soon enough.

Like an unseen demon the Fenrir plowed directly into the first Helcat, the much smaller zoid bowled over with a titanic crash, the pilot shrieking over the radio as his compatriots gawped at the sudden attacker in their midst. “Boss say fight! WE FIGHT!” cried Skitter as his zoid dropped its camouflage, followed momentarily later by the remaining unengaged Helcat which surged out of its snowdrift and towards the hulking wolf zoid that had attacked from stealth. No sooner had it rammed into the first of the three opposing zoids than the Fenrir deployed its massive glaive and swept through the downed zoid as if it were the thinnest of gossamer. Valkyrie snapped her head around to focus on the second of attackers turned victims, the targeting reticle of the Widow rifles settled into place as her zoid turned. Time seemed to flow like chilled syrup as first one and then the other rifle boomed, a pair of rounds carving neat trails through the blizzard like conditions before blasting the left side legs of the second Helcat into twisted ruin.

It was at this point Skitter had a sudden urge to be elsewhere, before the great snow demon turned its attention on him. Valkyrie grinned as she watched the remaining Helcat turn tail and bound off into the wilderness. “Awww not wanting to play? Can't have you getting away without a little something to remember me by!” mocked Valkyrie over the radio's open channel as she swept a burst from one of the Infinite Repeaters across the rear of the fleeing zoid. “Now though...to get a little more information I think...” added the woman as she brought her own zoid to a halt beside the crippled Helcat, the pilot struggling to open its hatch under the weight of snow that had piled up when it slammed into the ground. Valkyrie pulled on the heavy fur lined cloak she had snugged away behind her and grabbed the release handle, taking a few quick breaths of warm air and...

The hatch slammed open and the warm air was sucked out by a frozen blast, what moisture was in the air condensing immediately into a fine haze of ice before it was sucked away by the lingering high winds from the residual weather effects generated by her own Zoid. Luckily however, Val only considered the temperature bracing, rather than the bone chilling cold that gripped the very soul of a person. And thanks to the depth of snow, it was easy to dismount from her zoid, no using handholds of painfully cold metal or ladders of questionable safety, just a nice quick drop to the ground. Besides her cloak, the only thing Valkyrie carried was an oversized pistol that looked rather more intimidating than what most folk used these days. Snow crunched underfoot as wires and conduit sparked from the fallen Helcat, the pounding on the hatch of became more frantic as Valkyrie drew near, handcannon hanging from her side as she surveyed the head of her downed foe.

“Well...this won't do at all eh girl? I mean look at it! The pilots trapped, we really ought to do something to help. How about you give it a little help eh?” called Val as the Fenrir stirred, opening its jaws which closed almost gently around the dented and worn armor around the cockpit of the Helcat and slowly, almost painfully so. Metallic creaking rose in volume and with a mighty crack, the head twisted beyond its designed limits and ground out of the maw of the wolf to settle upright, the larger Wolf type zoid took several steps back as Valkyrie raised the pistol, the hatch clanging open. “May as well come out buddy!” called the woman as the occupant slowly raised his upper body out into the open as the wind shifted so that she was downwind and “Ooof...when did you last bathe?!” she cried, waving her free hand in front of her face as the tribal climbed out onto the top of the severed cockpit.

The cockpit of the Gun Blaster was warm, almost uncomfortably so, as Namaj slowly lumbered across the frozen hellhole that was known as Planet Zi. "Well, I wonder where we will end up next. That last camp was full of crazies but I guess the supplies we got from raiding them was worth the ammunition, right?" The short man was speaking to his Zoid, though the relic of a Zoid no longer had a sound system from which to make noises of any response level. A few days ago he had found a trail of poles that led him to a small camp mixed into a ruin of an old complex building of some type. There had been no Zoids, no vehicles, and no sentries so Namaj had deduced that the place was abandoned and had gone in to check. The small gun he had brought with him had held five bullets, and four had been used to put down the three savages that had charged him after he had entered the place. Three bullets was a lot for the time they were in, but so was the amount of food he had found stockpiled inside of that ruin. Fifty cans of cat food! FIFTY! There was also an assorted amount of fruit cups, what seemed to be a few pounds of meat that was not human, and a couple of knives and ranged weapons. There had been no ammunition of any kind, but surely a civil settlement would be willing to trade with him. He had also taken the clothing of the two males and the female he had shot. People were more than willing to buy bloody clothing, especially if it was warm.

After he had finished looting, and taken the poles of metal that had led him there, the man had begun wandering again to find a more suitable place to trade. It had been a few days, but he was seeing new locations and landmarks which meant he was moving in a direction he had not been to before. It was not long before he heard the sounds of fighting, not hard to hear when it involved Zoids, and the promise of looting Zoids was something he could not argue against. Pushing the Zoid to full speed, not fast for a Gun Blaster sadly, the man would get there in time to see a strange Zoid gnawing off another's head while someone stood by it.

Activating his communications he would send an open broadcast, there was no need for secrecy when in a giant Zoid that could be heard and seen from a good distance away; even inside of a blizzard. "Hello Strangers. I heard weapons fire and fighting over here. Is everything okay? May I be of assistance?" The man's calm voice would go over anything receiving at the time, his friendly tone mixed with a bit of concern that was as disarming as possible for the time being. It was his hopes to get in good with the victor. If they were in their right mind they would either let him have a look at the loot, or at least point him in the direction of the nearest friendly settlement so he could barter and trade his way to a more luxurious life in the chaos of this terribly faulty world. Now, if they were aggressive? Well, it would be life or death at that point. He would rather live, but at least it would be over forever if he did die. Either way he came out ahead, if you asked him personally, and thus he would await a response.